


this little world we've carved out

by afterreign



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Complicated Relationships, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Drabble, Drabble Collection, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, Not Beta Read, Pre-Relationship, Self-Indulgent, Shuake Week 2020, Unreliable Narrator, Wordcount: 100
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:48:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27601646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afterreign/pseuds/afterreign
Summary: Day 7: Akira and Goro are... They’re... What are they?Originally titled "snapshots of me and you and you and me." Written for Shuake Week 2020!
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 13
Kudos: 31





	1. star stickers

**Author's Note:**

> i have haphazardly decided to join shuake week 2020. this is certainly an idea
> 
> edit 11/25/20: thank you to myaami for reviewing and by proxy inspiring the new title for this fic! since i decided to join shuake week haphazardly a week ago, i made up a title at random. but! im definitely happier with the new one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro thinks back to elementary school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 1: stars

There are star stickers on Goro’s elementary school assignments.

No zeroes, no red ink marked all over his homework. They’re those golden stars anyone can get at a cheap price, placed onto assignments with the amount of effort you expect from an underpaid teacher.

Goro loved them: the shape, the color, the validation. The stars are the first thing he’s ever earned—the first thing he’s ever thought he deserved. 

But when Akira kisses the back of Goro’s knuckles, murmuring, “You’ve never had to earn me,” Goro would gladly let those stickers peel off to witness such a sight again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love the idea of goro being obsessed with those star stickers you get at the dollar store as a kid... of course, goro during p5 wouldn't care for them, but we still know goro seeks validation in other ways.


	2. one-sided game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira plays a game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 2: games

_This is a game_ , Akira thinks.

The outings, the phone calls, the shared jokes that leave Morgana baffled… They don’t mean anything. There’s no authenticity behind Akechi’s actions, despite Akira reciprocating with genuineness because that’s who he is. If the “Black Mask” doesn’t murder him, surely someone else who can manipulate him will.

Yet the way Akechi grins tells a different story. The smile, almost a smirk really, is different from the ones on TV, hidden almost completely behind his coffee cup like an unkept secret. And like a fool, Akira finds himself pleading that what they have is real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, i constantly think about how akira knows goro is going to hurt him and still spends time with him, what of it


	3. deep breaths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro takes a breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: interrogation room bad end
> 
> day 3: roles swap

Breathe in, breathe out.

As expected, it’s easier said than done.

Goro thinks something is broken. Below his ribs is likely a bruise in full bloom, a grotesque purple forming underneath his clothes. His nose is still bleeding after an officer kicked it in, and his vision flickers, dancing between darkness and a looming figure.

Ah, yes. Kurusu Akira, the elusive Detective Prince, is pressing the cold barrel of a gun to Goro’s forehead. The lack of conviction is reflected in his eyes.

“I,” Akira says, voice quiet, “wouldn’t want to wish anything like this on you.”

Goro breathes in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> although i do think their personalities would be a little different considering their swapped roles, i'd still like to think akira is more prone to showing emotions, especially if he developed a bond with goro and believed that this was going to be his last time with him.


	4. spring time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira experiences spring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 4: seasons

Akira is back in his old town on the first day of spring.

His stomach twists when no one celebrates his return. His parents remain wary of him, whispering amongst each other as if they’re trapped by their son.

“It’s a fresh start,” Sojiro had encouraged after witnessing Akira’s panic-stricken state days prior. It doesn’t calm his nerves.

Time passed too quickly. He was leaving, and Ann was leaving, and Ryuji was leaving, and Akechi—

Akechi… already left.

 _A new beginning_ , Akira thinks, somber, rolling a sakura petal between his fingertips. The pink comes off easily. _And it’s without you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this drabble happens a day after the ending of p5r, specifically the ending where akira doesn't see goro outside the train window
> 
> interestingly enough, p5r ends on 3/19, and the first day of spring in the year 2016 for japan is 3/20... how oddly fitting


	5. homeward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro goes home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 5: home

“It’s pretty dark,” Akira remarks, looking outside.

Goro is surprised to see that he’s right. It _is_ dark, the road outdoors vacant of any people. The crickets’ chirping is heard over the ambiance of the café.

“I should go,” Goro responds. Should. That’s the keyword, isn’t it?

Because Goro thinks about how the dead silence of his apartment is nothing compared to Leblanc’s liveliness. That the overly clean smell makes him feel like a stranger in comparison to the welcoming scent of coffee and curry.

Goro doesn’t have the courage to tell Akira that he already feels like he’s home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (atlus making everyone's third awakenings happen in their homes and making goro's third awakening happen in leblanc) i see you, atlus...


	6. partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Goro are partners—in crime, in love, in whatever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 6: sins & partnership

Awakening a second time hurts like a bitch.

All Akira can see is red when he tears off his new mask with a sickening crack, bruised hands shaking from the surge of adrenaline. A Persona, born from the strange mix that is fury and fealty, looms over him, a nightmare in its wake. The gun in his palm has never felt so right. The blood staining his skin even more so.

Almost serenely, Akira turns to the one who started it all. He smiles. “Look, we match.”

Akechi—no,  _ Goro _ doesn’t try to hide his disgust anymore. “That we do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we need more accomplice AUs...


	7. sticking stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Goro are... They're... What are they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 7: free day — s̶̲͐t̴̨͈̓â̸̞̰̪r̵̗̰̆s̶̛̻͌̈́

In between Akira’s fingers is a sheet of star stickers. He waves it around. “You have a lot of these, huh?”

Eyes closed, Goro— _Lord Akechi_ as the Shadows call him—sighs. “I have everything I need here,” he says, his voice distorted like television static. Goro gestures to toys he couldn’t afford as a child, magazines with his face plastered on them, the delightful, rotting corpse of Shido. “ _Everything_.”

“Everything,” Akira echoes. “Including me?”

“Yes,” Goro murmurs softly, sharply. There’s no hesitation. When he opens his eyes again, they glow as yellow as the stars. “I’ve already earned you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think most of you know, but if you didn't, [goro was supposed to have a palace!](https://twitter.com/MysticDistance/status/991560766808580096) i explored the concept, and hopefully i did it justice in 100 words.
> 
> it's my first time doing something like shuake week 2020, and i'm definitely glad i did. thank you for reading, everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to beat me up on [twitter](https://twitter.com/afterreign) ♡


End file.
